Affordable health insurance

Imagine that there were laws limiting the cars available for sale in Montana to fully loaded Toyota Landcruisers. That's a bit of an exaggeration, but current mandatory health insurance benefits have that general effect.

A bill sponsored by Rep. Tom McGillvray, R-Billings would lift some of those restrictions and allow more stripped down insurance policies to be made available. Might it mean that some Montanans would have health insurance that "underinsured" them -- of course, but given a choice between underinsured and uninsured, which is worse?

We've not done a full study of the legislature, but we suspect that the GOP caucus has a disproportionate number of self-employed individuals and small-business owners. We suspect that the Democratic contingent contains a disproportionate number of employees on the state payroll.

The one knows a little something about the realities of this issue that the other doesn't. Employers in Montana tend to offer pretty good health insurance when they can, since it is the benefit that employees and potential employees scrutinize most carefully -- if you want to get and keep good people, you'll generally provide more than is required by law.

But many businesses don't have that luxury, and avoid having full-time employees because they can't afford the benefits, or don't have as many as they might otherwise hire. The most important factor of health insurance is to provide for major catastrophic care. Those Montanans who can't afford "fully loaded" health insurance should be given the opportunity to buy "stripped down" models that can avoid financial ruin in the case of a catastrophic health event.

Is it really that hard?

We won't even bother with links and examples.

Here at Montana Headlines, we have been drawing attention to the need for rhetorical discipline amongst GOP lawmakers in Helena. Silly us, we were talking about more advanced stuff like not getting drawn into school-yard "did not/did too" arguments on the House floor.

It seems that after reading Republican political headlines in recent months and years, perhaps Montana Headlines should, in retrospect, have stuck to some more simple suggestions:

1. Don't get arrested or cited for wrongdoing that most Montanans would find offensive or reckless between election-day and the end of the session.

2. Don't be associated with behaviors that you're on record as being committed to stamping out.

3. Don't say things that can be interpreted as racist -- if you don't know what those things are, remain silent and just push red or green.

4. Don't engage in endless Quixotic (that means hopeless) legal crusades that only 5% of Montanans won't view as bizarre unless you have the rhetorical ability and magnetic stage presence to sway to your side most of the 95% who will.. (See the second half of #3 for more guidance.)

5. Don't send offensive attack mailers -- especially not during the middle of a delicately balanced session.

6. Don't embezzle money.

7. Realize that if your kids would be embarrassed or turned off by your actions or words, then multiply that by a few thousand, and kiss good-bye any hopes of expanding the ranks of the College Republicans and ensuring the future of conservative principles.

8. Know that you will make the papers, usually repeatedly, probably on the front page, if you do any of the above (or perform similarly creative self-destructive acts.)



It's not enough just to win elections and legislative majorities. No-one is perfect, and anyone who reads MH regularly knows that we are Exhibit A at saying things that might better have gone unsaid. But razor-thin margins in the legislature (whether a majority as in the House, or a minority as in the Senate) are going to highlight mis-steps that could have been shuffled off to the side (ignoring tut-tut's from the press and squeals from the left) back when Republicans had 60% majorities in both houses, held the state house, and comprised 2/3rds of the U.S. Congressional delegation. And those weaknesses can be enough to derail legislative agendas and make it hard to win future elections.

Perhaps we're being school-marmish, but we don't think so. There was certainly a day in Montana's political history when someone stopped for DUI merely because of having bumped up against a curb might be formally censured by the state legislature. Censured, that is, for failing to enter into the spirit of the session because of not drinking enough. But that was a long time ago.

We're not going to stop rooting for the home team, and we're not going to stop filling in the circle beside the "R." We know that Republican legislators tend to vote according to conservative principles, and that even brilliant and politically nimble Democratic legislators usually vote the wrong way. We thus fully support and are grateful for every one of our elected officials who votes right -- at least until the next competitive primary. Any Montana Republican should be able to grasp that basic concept.

But we ask some of our elected officials and party leaders again, is it really that hard to keep from shooting your own party in its collective foot?